Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1887-07-22
THE STORY OF 4 Night.
BY W. T. ROUSE.

"l6n OClOck, Sno odlu3 Hoh
aloud; ''quite time James were
here" Rising, she walked to the
window and drew aside the shade.
1t was a wild night without; ut-
terly dark and storming fiercely, as
she could tell by the clamor of the
wind, as with loud shrek or pro-
longed roar it swept about the
place.
She strove to peer into the dark
ness, and shuddered as she thought !
of the perils to which belated way
farer be exposed. The cold was !
intense, and the drifts must be
piled high along the way.
Then she raised the window
slightly and put out her hand, that
she might feel the force of the |
storm.
A fierce gust entered the aDer'
ture, sending the singing flakes Of
snow against her face and arms
She closed the window quickly and |
returned shivering to her seat be- /
fore the fire.
"James will not come home to-
night; surely he will not venture"
she said aloud, as if to reassure |
herself and vanish any fears that |
ventured to suggest themselves.
She drew her chair nearer the |
CRATE, and, taking up her book, en-
deavored to resume reading; but /
the subject had lost its interest for |
her, and after a time, she laid the
book aside, and leaning Der head |
upon her hand, fell into reverie.
She was a widow, and her only |
son, James Edgerton, was the IA
vorite physician in the small wes-
tern city in which they lived.
Tie was all in ali to her, and |
though given to having her way
with others, to him she always |
yielded.
Late in the afternoon of this day |
he had been called out of town sew
eral miles to see "a patient. She /
had begged him not to go, but he
was not to be persuaded, and prom
ising TO return the early part of the /
evening, he had gone.
She was a handsome woman,
strong of will, nerve, and body, IT /
one might Judge from her face and |
form, and one not likely to indulge |
strange fancies, pleasant or other
wise; but tonight her thoughts /
slipped from their wOnted bonds OF
control and ran unpleasant riot /
through her brain.
Common sense, to whom she vas /
in the habit of listening, told her /
that her son would remain at the
home of his patient until the storm
abated. But she forgot its assur-
ance, when Imagination pictured
him snow. bound, or lost in one of |
the drifts, which she knew must
block the way.
At length she could remain quiet
no longer, and rising she stirred
the fire and put on more fuel, and
soon the room, which had grown
somewhat chilled, was warmed by
its bright glow.
Filled with a restlessness she
could not control, she paced the
length Of the room back and forth,
listening intently at intervals, but
distinguishing nothing but the
noise of the storm without.
An hour passed thus; then worn
out with her vigil, she laid down
upon sofa opposite the furnace
and closed her eyes.
After a time, how long she knew
not, she was aroused by the sound
Of the closing Of the outer door.
"Jsmes has come" she thought,
with glad throb at her heart
Then steps came through the hall
James step. She heard the
sound Of the latch as it turned, the
door OF the room opened; she felt
the breath of the cool outer air, and
her son entered.
She rose to meet him, with a glad
cry upon her lips, but the words re-
fused TO leave them. She could not
move an unknown force held her
to tie spot. She felt herself freez-
ing with a terror she could not un-
derstand, yet every faculty was
alert and every nerve strained.
The physicians clothes we're GOV.
cred with an icy coating of sleet.-
DC walked to the FIRE, without seem
ing to see his mother, and stretched
bis hands out to the warmth. Soon
he turned toward her and his face
looked strange and still.
The clock struck one, and she
noted the stroke as people often
note trivial things when they are
dszed by a sudden sorrow or
trouble.
She stretched her arms toward
him, and cried out his name.
She felt the cold touch of his lips
upon her forehead, then he faded
from Der sight.
For some moments she remained
standing, saying over to herself:
at is a dream" At length. de-
termined TO prove to herself that
what she had seen was the result
of disOrdered fancy, she tried the